Grandma…still isn't answering. Shirayuki clutched her phone tightly and curled up in a ball. She could feel the familiar sting of tears taking form and she bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying. It's…probably nothing, though. Ashido-chan said she's probably just busy. Maybe she took Sayuri-chan's daughter shopping or…she's with her friends playing mahjong.
No matter what explanation she thought of, nothing could stop the feeling in her gut. The dread coiling there like a snake; tighter and tighter until panic was sure to consume her. It was only her second day of the summer training camp and she had managed to keep the bad thoughts at bay, but now that training was over for the evening, there was nothing to stop it.
She had managed to slip away from everyone else and now Shirayuki was outside. Sitting on the ground and struggling to hold herself together. She started typing a message to Amajiki and jolted when she heard a quiet scoff to her right. The girl lowered her head, letting her dark violet hair fall around her face. "…I-I'm sorry…I'll go back inside…I just…I was calling my grandmother…"
Shirayuki had thought it was her teacher, but when footsteps approached, she knew it was not Aizawa. Lifting her eyes, she peered up at the figure through her hair and wished it had been her teacher instead. "…just…leave me alone…" she mumbled, curling in on herself more.
"You know how long I was looking for you?! That damn idiot kept trying to distract me and said I should leave you alone." Bakugou stopped next to her and leaned back against the wall, sliding down to sit beside the girl. "Tch. Trying to tell me what's best for you like I don't know you."
"…just leave…please…" she repeated. Her hands were shaking as she finished her message to Amajiki, planning to get up and go back inside after she hit "send". As soon as she stood, a hand gripped her wrist and tugged her back down so she was sitting again. "…B-Bakugou…just…"
"The old lady didn't call you back, did she?"
Even though this was her second day without her mask, Shirayuki was still self-conscious. Still not used to having her facial expressions on full display. She covered her mouth with a hand as her lower lip quivered and she looked away. She wanted to hide her tears and put on a brave act, but at the moment it just felt impossible.
"Sit down, damn it. I came out here to talk to you." He let go of her wrist and slipped his hand to hers. His slightly calloused fingers laced with her slender, soft fingers. His scowl softened into a concerned frown. "You're worried about your grandma, right?"
The tears she had been trying so hard to fight back began to roll down her cheeks. Shirayuki slouched and gave him a nod. "…she…she should have called me back, but…she hasn't called…I-I don't know what would have happened…but I just…"
"Everybody keeps telling you she's okay."
"…I-I know…she's probably…there probably isn't anything wrong…I can't…I can't imagine wh-what would have happened, but…um…but I have a…bad feeling in my stomach…l-like when we were in the USJ training and…that villain tried to attack Kirishima-kun…it's like that, but…but it's worse because I…can't do anything…I'm too far away to h-help her…even if she needs help…"
Her shoulders trembled as she cried and she tried to wipe the tears away with her free hand. She had been so determined to push herself and be brave, but this had been wearing her down since they arrived. This heavy feeling of dread that just would not go away, no matter what anyone said to her or what she did.
Bakugou was silent for a moment as he looked at their hands in the dimness of the evening. Finally, his mouth set into a determined scowl and he pushed himself to stand. He pulled her with him, keeping his fingers laced with hers and glaring down into her watery red eyes. "Why the hell didn't you say that sooner?!"
"…wh-what…?" She yelped quietly as he started toward the door, dragging her with him. "…B-Bakugou, wait…!"
"If you feel like that, you've gotta say something! What if something's wrong?! Nothing is gonna happen if you don't speak up!"
"…I…but what if…everything's fine and I'm just…I don't want to bother anyone…" she tried to argue.
"I can't hear you when you mumble," he growled over his shoulder. "If you've got something to say, then say it louder!"
"…l-let go…"
"Louder! Come on! If you want people to take you seriously, you've got to say it so they can hear you! Come on!" Bakugou turned around to face her, squeezing her hand and watching redness spread across her face.
"I…I don't…" Shirayuki took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her hand squeezing his as tightly as she could. "I don't want to bother anyone! Just let go! It's probably nothing so I'm just going to be bothering people! Why can't you just listen to me?!"
A grin tugged at his lips and he yanked her closer to him, bringing her face just a few inches from his. "That's more like it!"
Is he…is he blushing…a little? She looked away quickly, feeling other students staring at them. "…s-so…I just want to go back outside…please…"
"If you're so damn worried, then do something about it! If you're not gonna tell a teacher then-!"
"Hey! Yuki, what's going on? I thought I heard you yell-! Oh! Bakugou, is that where you went? I thought you were in the bathroom for a long time!" Kirishima approached the two and tilted his head when he saw the pinkish tint to Bakugou's face and the girl's worried expression. "Yuki? You okay? Here."
Her friend took her free hand and he gently started leading her outside. Bakugou was close behind, but released her other hand; shoving his hands into his pockets and scowling. Kirishima gave the girl a weak smile over his shoulder as they stepped outside. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm here if you need someone to talk to. Did your grandma call you yet?"
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked to the screen. Her lips drew into a deeper frown and she lowered her head, feeling self-conscious. "…n-no…she hasn't called me back…but I…don't want to bother her so maybe…I should stop calling…j-just in case she's busy or…"
A hand settled on her shoulder and made her glance up to find Kirishima tilting his head. "No way! Yuki, she might be busy, but I don't think you're bothering her! You know, she's probably worried about bothering you! That might be why she hasn't called back yet. She knows you might be training so-"
"Try again." The growled command came from Bakugou. "Come on. You've gotta try it one more time, damn it. Pisses me off seeing you act this worried."
Kirishima glanced from their loud classmate back to Shirayuki and he frowned before turning his gaze back to Bakugou. "Hey, maybe you should go inside. I'll stay with her while she calls and we'll come in soon." He saw the other boy bristle and held up both hands defensively. "We can hang out! All three of us! It'll be fun! Just…give her some space right now, okay?"
Narrowed red eyes focused on Shirayuki before he took a few steps closer to the girl. Fingers gripped a strand of her dark violet hair and tugged as pinkness spread across her face. "Just hurry up. And don't make me come look for you!"
She gripped her cellphone in both hands and watched him walk away. Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked down at her phone screen again. No new calls, but a few new messages from her upperclassmen.
A sigh drew her attention back to the red-haired boy in front of her. "He's even more intense than usual, huh?" Seeing her bow her head a little more, Kirishima settled his hand on her shoulder again. "It'll be okay. I promise." When she lifted her eyes, he beamed. "I'm your best friend, right? So I'm not going to let him push you around."
His hand took hers and the boy led her over to the wall to sit down together. "Your boyfriend's a third year, right? Do they have a summer training camp right now?"
"…no…he's, um, he's just…doing his work study…" Talking about Amajiki made her blush instantly return. At the same time, she felt a hint of guilt in the pit of her stomach from talking about him to Kirishima.
"Why don't you have him check on her?"
"…wh-what…?"
"Yeah! Yuki, you should call him right now! I'll be super quiet; I promise he won't even know that I'm here." Kirishima grinned and made a zipping motion across his mouth.
"…ah…o-okay…um…I just…I hope I'm not bothering him…" Shirayuki scrolled to Amajiki's number in her contacts and called. When she was greeted with Togata's voice instead of Amajiki's, she jolted and her finger slipped.
"Hey, Yuki! How's the summer training camp? Making a lot of progress with your quirk? You're having fun, right? Are you taking lots of pictures?" Togata's voice on speaker was so warm and cheerful that it almost made her worries fade.
"…um…Togata-senpai, is…is Tamaki there…?" Shirayuki's voice came out in a quiet sort of squeak in comparison to the boy's confident tone.
"Well, he is, but he's kind of shy about talking on the phone. Hey, Tamaki, are you sure you can't-? Sorry, Yuki; he's in the corner now. So what's up? Did you want me to tell him something for you?"
"Hi, Yuki! Are you having fun? What kind of stuff are you guys doing at the training camp? Oooh! Did you hear any more good ghost stories? Are you doing a test of courage?" Nejire interrupted before Shirayuki could talk again.
The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I, um, I just w-wanted to ask if he could check on my grandma!" she forced out.
The other two were silent for a moment and then there was a quiet shuffling sound. Finally, Amajiki's voice could be heard. "Y-you want me to check on her?"
Hearing his voice made her pulse speed up and she nodded, despite him not being able to see it. "…I…I keep trying to call her and…she isn't answering the phone or c-calling me back so…I-I don't want to bother you, but…if you could go there…and just let me know if she's okay…"
"O-of course! Yuki…that's not a bother. Um…t-tomorrow is okay?"
"…th-that would fine…um…T-Tamaki, I…I really appreciate you doing this and I…I miss you…"
"I-I miss you, too! Er…that…I-I'm…embarrassed now…" he mumbled.
"We'll go check on her tomorrow after our work studies," Togata assured her. "Everything's going to be just fine, Yuki! You'll see!"
The call ended and she felt like her face was burning from blushing so hard. Sitting next to her, Kirishima quickly looked away from the girl and blushed pink. "…um…th-thank you for…suggesting that, Kirshima…"
He rubbed at the back of his neck and his mouth curved into a smile, but it was a half-hearted smile. "Yeah. I just…wanted to give you some peace of mind, you know? I mean, I don't like seeing you so down." His gaze slid back to Shirayuki and their eyes met. "You know, I'm kind of relieved. That probably sounds weird, though, huh?"
"…w-were you worried about my grandma…?"
"Yeah! Of course! I just…ugh, this is awkward." Kirishima leaned closer to her and reached for her hand. "He really makes you happy, doesn't he?" Seeing her eyes widen before shifting to the side, his face took on a genuine grin. "It's cute! I mean, I can tell he makes you happy, Yuki! You looked so excited when you heard his voice!"
A sigh left him and he leaned his head back against the wall. "I'm not going to lie to you, though. I wish I could make your face light up like that. I'm pretty jealous. But I'm not going to try to hold you back or talk you into leaving him. If he makes you happy, I want you to be with him. I want you to be happy, Yuki."
She was quiet for a moment before she managed to summon forth some courage. "He…makes me happy," she admitted. Fidgeting with the butterfly-shaped pendant hanging around her neck, she nodded to herself. "He supported me at my internship. And his quirk…is kind of like mine. In ways. And he's really sweet. And…I-I'm sorry…this is…this is embarrassing…and you probably…don't want to hear me talk so much…"
"Here you are! I was looking for you everywhere, Yuki! Huh?" Ashido approached the two and tilted her head. "What's up? Did your grandma call you back? Wait. Why are you both blushing?"
"You're imagining things! It's too dark for you to see if anyone's blushing," Kirishima argued. He stood and offered his hand to help Shirayuki stand up. "Let's go back inside before Bakugou starts looking for you." He gave her a cheerful half-grin and his warm hand tightened on hers as he pulled her to stand.
"So what were you doing?" The pink-haired girl heard the explanation and beamed. "That's so sweet! Yuki, your boyfriend's pretty responsible, isn't he?"
"…yes…he's…he's really sweet…"
"Hey, let's change the subject; this is starting to get awkward," the boy spoke up again. "We're doing a test of courage tomorrow, right?"